What is a Barndominium?
A barndominium is a home that is built in the style of a barn and has the living space of a condominium. They are mostly made from steel or metal. They can be made from existing barns or from kits that have everything you need.
People like them because they are different and can have more room than in a traditional home. You can decorate it in different ways than you can in a traditional home, as well. A converted barndominium is built from a barn, while a new build is completely constructed new, usually from a kit.
You can find barndominium builders anywhere there are homebuilders. You can try https://mibarndominiums.com/ to see what they have to show you. They have the experience you are looking for when having one of these structures built for you.
This article will help you to learn about questions that you should ask your builder. It will help you to learn more about the process. You can also do more research to find the information that you are seeking.
Questions You Should Ask
- Do You Have a License and Insurance? Your builder should have a license and insurance to build your structure, just as any homebuilder would need. You want to make sure that the license is good for building barndominiums and not just typical homes: https://www.michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/bcc/sections/permit-section/permits/building-permit-information. They need to have all the proper training for the license.
To get a license, one must go through training, pass all exams, and know all the building codes. You can’t just go out and get a license at the nearest store. You must know all there is to know about building, and you must pass all the exams before you can get it.
Insurance is just as important as the license when building a barndominium. You want to make sure that when the builder is building your structure there are no accidents or other trouble. If there is, you want them to be insured.
- What Experience Do You Have with Barndominiums? You also need to make sure that the builder has experience building this type of structure. See here for a list of experienced builders. They are not as easy to build as a typical home and there are other things that they need to know. If they are building from a kit, they need to know how to work with metal or steel, as well.
If they are converting an existing barn into a home, they need to know what they are doing, as well. You want to make sure that they can do the job. Make sure that this is one of the first questions that you ask.
- Will You Provide References? The builder should have references from previous construction that they have done. Ask to see those references and to see the barndominiums that were built. Some previous barndo owners will let you see their homes to see if you like what they have done.
- What is Your Timeline? You need to know what kind of timeline you are looking at. Will it be done in a timely manner, or will it take years? This is something that you need to know before you allow the building to become.
- Can I Have a Written Contract? You should have a written contract that informs you about all you need to know about the construction. You also want to have all guarantees and warranties written in the contract. Everything that has something to do with the construction you want in the contract.
- How Are Payments and Overruns Handled? You should pay a down payment before construction is begun. You will pay an amount that is equal to about twenty to forty percent of the estimated cost of construction. You might also need to pay for any cost overruns up front, as well. Make sure you ask about how to make these payments.
- Who Will be On the Site Every Day? Someone should be onsite every day to make sure the work is completed as it should be. This could be a lead contractor, a general contractor, or the owner of the business themselves. You just need someone onsite that knows what is going on in case you have questions about it.
- What About Permits and Inspections? Permit and inspections are a part of any build, and you need to make sure that the onsite person is on top of these. These are legally required to make sure that the barndo is built according to code. If it is not built to code, there could be mistakes made that will make it unsafe.
- How Do You Plan to Communicate? You want the contractor to talk to you about the construction on a regular basis. This could be daily, weekly, or just when something unusual happens. You want more communication – the more you know the better off you will be.
Conclusion
There are many questions that you need to ask before you have a barndominium built for you. These are important questions that need to be answered before you even begin. Once you have the answers that satisfy you, you can begin your barndo!
